This content was originally posted by: alfiya7vicky part ws confusing n m sure u wnt explain tht coz its a suspense eagerly waitg for this suspense to gt ovr bt i knw it'l tke lot of tym...aftr all the heading is KHURANA MYSTERY...so thr is a mystery behing khurana family...as tht detective said khurana family has two faces...
Chapter 21:
Gujarati Love Story
(Part 1)
Adi had arranged for Popat seth and his wife to come another day. As they entered he gave Pinky a quick glance remembering what had happened last time they were here. He could hear Pinky chuckle.
Maan, who did not want anymore drama in front of his clients, decided that Meera was to work as the architect. She had another, bigger project running and gave the responsibility to Sasha. Not that he liked to do it but Sasha at least knew her work and would not mess it up. Meera didn't know why MK took her project away so suddenly. She wanted to ask him but knew his temper. He didn't like being questioned about his decision making. Meera was going to ask Adi, who was at reception, when she bumped into someone and almost fell. The guy caught her at her waist and they had an eye lock. A song started to play:
"Yash ko Meera se pyaar hogaya, pehli nazar mein pehla pyaar hogaya, ek nazar dono o o o o o o…." It sounded as if the voice was stuck. Yash cursed his bad luck and tapped on his pocket, hoping the tape would play on. Meera came out of her trance when she heard Pinky laugh, even Adi let out his laughter which made Pinky laugh even more. Meera got up, red from embarrassment. She hoped MK was nowhere near as he did not tolerate such behaviour in KC.
"Excuse me mister, tum ho kaun aur kar kya rahe the?" Meera asked him angrily.
"Ek minute jaan-e-mann" Yash said removing the walkman from his pocket and checked the tape. He was engrossed in his work and did not notice Meera leave as she had been called to MK's office.
"Ok, the tape got stuck." He looked up to find Meera missing.
"Arre, kaha chali gayi?" turned to search and found Pinky.
"Excuse me, kya aap ne Meera koh kahin dekha hain?" He asked flashing a charming smile at her.
"Kyun, kya kaam tha Meera se?" Pinky asked as normally as possible. Being a receptionist at KC was a good but at times very dull job. Now this guy came out of nowhere and had made her day by his entertainment.
"Woh.." he said shying slightly. Pinky laughed.
"Waise, maine aap ko yaha pehle kabhi dekha nahin. Kya aap client ho?"
"Haan, aaj meri yaha ke MD ke saath meeting..." he bit his tongue as he remembered that his parents had asked him straight to come to the office.
"Oh no aaj mummy jaan lelegi. Yaha ke MD ki office kaha hain?" Pinky showed him directions and Yash left.
Maan was just talking to Popat and Ketki when Yash came in. He shook hands with Maan and introduced himself as their son. Ketki wanted to build an orphanage. She told them about how she and her husband had been childless till they saw Yash one day and brought him home. Even if he was not their real son they had never thought of him as less. The orphanage Yash used to be in was going to close due to bad conditions. Hence they had brought it and wanted a completely new building for all the children. Meera, who had been listening, was lost in thought when Yash gently tapped her on her shoulder. He pointed to MK who had raised his brow.
"Sorry sir, kuch nahin hain."
"Ok then Meera, I want you to take over this project. How about you take them to BG and talk everything through?" When he saw Meera's questioning look he added.
"All conference halls are booked out, that's why."
When they reached the lifts Yash made some gestures to his mother who got elated.
"Arre Meera beta, ek baat sun."
"Ji Ma'am"
"Mujhe haina abhi yaad aaya ke meri aaj bank me appointment hain woh bhi saruri. Main aur Popat nikalte hain, Yash tujhe sab kuch samjha dega theek hain?" But she didn't wait for a reply and took off with her husband who looked at her, confused. She didn't even bother explaining to him as he wouldn't understand anyways… husbands!
Meera was not pleased since she was stuck with Yash now, but she was professional enough not to mix her personal feelings with work.
"This way please". They reached BG and took a table.
"So Mr Patel, please do tell me what your requirements are?" Yash put his elbow on the table and supported his face with his hand.
"Not much. You must be Indian and be able to make Gujarati Khaman Dhokla"
"What?"
"Haan, mummy ne kaha hain, bahu aaegi to Indian aur Khaman Dhokla is my favourite."
"Mr Patel, mein aap ki shaadi ki nahin, is project ki baat karrahi hu."
"Please tum mujhe Yash buloa na, Mr Patel kitna unromantic lagta hain." Meera was loosing her patients. She cursed her stars for putting her in his situation.
Geet had woken up late. She had to be at work and it was almost lunch time already. Because she had slept through dinner and breakfast she was quite hungry, but work was more important. She had a shower, wore a churidar, make her hair into a messy bun and left. When she arrived at KC, Pinky told her about Yash and Meera. Geet laughed too and after hearing that both were in BG made her way up to meet them. She could see how lovingly Yash was looking at Meera and how annoyed she was. She decided to find out what exactly was going on and made a quick lunch for both.
"Good afternoon, I took liberty to make lunch" Geet told Yash and put down two plates in front of them.
"Meera tere liye bhi hain." Yash was excited thanked Geet.
"Waise Jaan-e-mann tumhe khaane me kya pasand hai?" Geet almost dropped the glass she was holding and looked at Meera asking her what was going on. Meera excused herself and pulled Geet into a deserted corner.
"Geet main tujhe kya batau, is client ne toh naak me damm kar rakha hai. Mein kab se project ke bareme pooch rahi hu aur yeh hai ke kya kya bole jaraha hai. MK ko yeh museebat mere hi sarr dalna tha." Geet laughed. Meera glared at her and Geet shut up.
"Meera, ladka inta burra bhi nahin lagte hain. Shayad sach mein tujhe pasand karre. Give him a chance. Waise bhi na tera boyfriend hain aur nahin tu kisi ko chahti hain. So how about him. Kabhi to tu apna ghar basaigi na?"
"Shaadi aur is languor ke saat? Dimaag kharab hain kya? Is ladke mein aisa kya hain keh mein isse pasand karun?"
"Well miss Meera, I am good looking, come from a good family, love you a lot and promise to stay faithful for the rest of me life." Yash spoke while folding his arms over his chest and looking at both girls. Meera had turned around feeling embarrassed and sorry for having said such a thing.
"Woh, I'm sorry, mujhe patta nahin tha keh aap yaha.." she stuttered.
"It is ok. Saruri yeh nahin keh hum kis ke baremein kahe, saruri hain yeh ke hum kya kahein. Ab lunch karren?" Meera felt even worse now and gave Geet a quick look before going back to her lunch.
After eating sometime she said:
"Sorry Yash, I didn't mean to hurt you, it is just…"
"Hai, finally you said Yash and not Mr Patel. Anyways it is ok. I know I advanced too quickly, I should have given you a proper introduction of who I am and so on."
"Firstly, how did you know my name, I mean, the tape..." she broke off when she realised she shouldn't have mentioned it, not now.
"Oh that, I had noticed you the first time my parents came to KC, I was to pick them up and saw you. It was love at first sight. I asked the watchman about your name."
Meera was silent at the mention of love at first sight. Yash continued:
"Well about me. I was an orphan; my dad was a single parent after mom died giving birth to me. He died, too and since I had no next of kin I landed in the orphanage. I loved it there to be honest but yes I had to admit I always hoped that the couple walking through the doors were my future parents. And see there, I got my wish. Even though I had to face some difficulties, you know with some conservative family members, my parents loved me always as their own. Mom pampers me a lot and dad never leaves a chance to point our how useless I am. This project is a gift from my parents to me. Not that it was necessary but they knew how attached I still am to the place and how it hurts me to see the old building deteriorate and close down. After all, I had found my happiness because of the orphanage and I find it my responsibility to make sure other children aren't deprived of their right for happiness and love, too." Yash who had been looking into his plate raised his head to find Meera gawping at him.
"Tumhari harkatoh se lagta hi nahin ke tum itne samajdar aur simmedar ho" she said realising a bit too late that this was maybe not an appropriate remark to make. But Yash just laughed and said:
"Yes I know I do a lot of masti and hence seem unreliable and so on but it is only because I am a psychiatrist from profession and have to be serious most of the time. That is why I have fun with people around me whenever I am free."
The finished and both didn't want this meeting to end. Geet, who had been watching both closely from behind the large plant which was between the counter and their table, was happy to see the situation lighten up. She had noticed both finish their meal and quickly made them her mocha special so both got more time to chat. Meera and Yash thanked Geet inwardly for this when she had delivered the drinks.
"Waise, it's on the house. Mein apno se kabhi paise nahin leti" Geet said when Yash was removing his wallet.
"But I am a regular customer" Yash tried to reason.
"I don't think you are anymore" Geet said looking towards Meera and winking at her.
Chapter 22:
Ek Katori Daal
After Meera had taken the clients, Maan checked his mails. The work had piled up and most of the work was not his but that of his secretary. He wanted to give her a piece of mind for wasting his precious time when he remembered that he didn't have one anymore. News had spread like fire that KC had the highest rate of fired secretaries and hence no sensible woman wanted to join. Those few brave ones usually had less interest in the job and more in MSK. Maan had repeatedly asked Adi to get some candidates even if from another city but no one could be found. He also thought about asking Geet. She was very efficient and sincere when it came to work and had one quality that was almost vital for the job: immunity to his anger. He sighed when he realised that she would never take up the responsibility as she would have to compromise with her bistro. He can still remember how she had protested working temporarily on DeMello's project.
He thought a little about Geet and wondered whether she was still sleeping. He called Nakul and inquired about her. Nakul told him that she had left shortly before lunch. Maan further questioned about her having breakfast and Nakul said he had brought her some but she was still sleeping. After she had left he had checked the plate and it was untouched. Maan cut the call and made his way to BG where he was sure to find Geet.
"Kabhi kabhi mujhe sach mein lagta hain ke is ladki ka dimaag bilkul khaali hain. Koi baat bolu is ke palle hi nahin parta." He knew she didn't have dinner last night and now not even breakfast. And just as he had expected she wasn't having lunch just like everyone else but was working and that too with her injured hand. He looked around to locate Romeo but he was nowhere to be found.
"GEET" he yelled and she got so scared as it had come totally unexpected that she dropped the tablet with someone's lunch. Unfortunately it landed directly on her foot.
"Ouch" she screamed and Maan held her as she was almost falling down. Not wanting to create a drama in front of his staff he led Geet, who was humping on one foot now, to her private room.
"Aap ko bara mazaa aata haina mujhe dard deke. Pehle kalaahi aur ab pair bhi" she scolded him.
"Geet ghalati meri nahin tumhari thi" Maan said going into the kitchen and looking for a clean towel and some ice. He came back only to see Geet looking at him in disbelief.
"MERI ghalati? Mujhpe chillaja kaun? Mujhe darraya kisne?" She asked him.
"Meri baat kisne nahin maani?" Maan asked back. He wrapped the bag with ice cubes into the towel and put in on Geet's foot which had become red and started to swell a little.
"Maine aapki kaunsi baat nahin maani?"
"Meine kaha tha na keh tum koi bhi meal skip nahin karogi. OK kal dinner time peh tum sorahin thi, lekin uthne ke baad kyun kuch nahin khaaya?"
"Woh main late uthi thin na aur mujhe kaam ke liye deri horahin thi isi liye" she said innocently. Maan sighed.
"Geet, kaam chahe kitna kyun na ho, meals skip karna acchi baat nahin hoti hain"
"Aap bhi to karte hai. Dadi ne bataya tha ke ghar pe breakfast aur dinner sirf kabhi kabhi karte ho aur lunch agar lunch meeting ho toh." Her reply shut him up. He knew he, too, did the same and he hated Dadi for telling her that. He wondered how he should explain to her and decided to leave it there. Geet was incredibly stubborn and she would find a reply to all his arguments. Moreover, she had said that even in the past she had skipped meals and she looked very healthy to him.
"Theek hain Geet jaisa tum chaho." He stood up, lifted her and made her sit on his lap.
"Ek baat batao, KC mein aane ke baad tum mujhse milni kyun nahin aae?"
"Woh Meera…" she stopped because she remembered Meera telling her once what had happened to one of her colleagues who was caught by Maan romancing with her own husband in the archive. Maan raised his brow. Geet tried to twist the truth a little and continued:
"Woh Meera koh client ke saath upar aate dekha tha na to maine socha ke uske liye lunch bana du."
"Khud apna khaane ka thikana nahin aur dusro ka dekhni chali" Maan muttered under his breath but Geet had heard him.
"Aisa kuch nahin hain. Mujhe khaana banana aur dusro ko khilana bohut pasad hain. Lekin mein khud khaane ka shaukh nahin rakti" Geet explained sweetly.
"Aisa kyun?" Maan wondered.
"Kya haina, bachpan se hi mamma aur main pakate aae hain aur humare ghar mein pehle buzurg, phir mard aur phir aurte khaatete. Mujhe to pakane ke waqt hi bhook lagtiti, lekin khaana bhook marjane ke baad hi miltata." Geet put her head on Maan's shoulder and narrated further:
"Pata hain, ek baar mamma ko meri bhook dekhi nahin gai aur unho ne mujhe chori chori thori si daal dedi ek katori mein. Daarji ne dekh liya, mamma ka haat jaladiya aur hum dono ko do din kuch khaane ko nahin diya. Tab se maine mama ko kabhi bhi nahin bola ke mujhe bhook lagi hain aur ab adat si bangae hain bhookha rehne ki."
Maan felt his shoulder getting wet and saw Geet silently shedding tears. His heart ached to hear that his love had been mistreated like this and rage filled him for her family.
He whipped her tears and gave her a loving kiss.
"Please don't cry Geet." But Geet shook her head and said:
"Mamma ki yaad aati haina to aansu rukhte nahin." He could just understand her too well. Even his heart cried remembering his mother. But if he broke down what would he do with Geet. He embraced her and let her cry some more.
Tears take away sorrow hence we should not stop them.
'Mere naseeb mein aansoo nasahin, lekin Geet ka to woh saat derahe hain.'
He rubbed her back gently and gave Geet a moment while he remembered her scrapbook. He didn't wish to reveal that he had been snooping around in her personal book, after what he knew of Geet she might really cut of his nose, but he was curious about some points. He decided to ask her on one topic at a time.
"Geet, tumhari mamma kaha hain abhi?"
"Pata nahin" She cried more and this time loudly. It seemed to Maan that he had hit a very sensitive nerve of hers. Her hold on him tightened and Maan got worried.
"Geet, kya hua? I am sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"Mujhe mamma ke paas jana hain." She demanded like a small child.
"Theek hai, main leke jaunga tumhe, bolo kab jana hain."
"Mein nahin ja sakti na, mamma ne hi kasam dilwaiti mujhe." Maan didn't understand a thing. He knew Geet's mother had sent her or rather made her run away from home but why, he had no clue.
"Suno toh, please calm down and tell me what happened, or do you think it is none of my business." He had purposely added the last bit. He knew Geet very well by now or at least enough to tell she would never think this way. He added a fake sad face and Geet instantly wiped her tears and spoke up.
"Nahin sir, aisa nahin hain. Mein jab choti thin a toh ek din mein school se ghar aae. Mamma bohut tensed thi aur poocha toh pata chala ke meri shaadi pakki hogai thi." Maan gripped Geet tighter as if he feared she might be taken away from him.
"Mamma ko yeh rishta manzoor nahin tha lekin humare ghar mein naahi mamma aur naahi mujhe bolne ka haq tha. Isiliye unhone mujhe raat ko bhaga diya ghar se. Jaane se pehle mera haat unke sar pe rakha tha" Geet put Maan's hand on her own head, showing her exactly how it had been and continued:
"aur kasam dilwaiti ki main kabhi zindagi mein Hoshiarpur wapas nahin aungi. Maine maa ko kaha tha ke wo bhi mere saath aae aur unhone kaha tha ke wo jitni jaldi hogi mere paas aegi, lekin abhi tak nahin aae." Geet started to cry again. Maan understood her pain. He also understood Rano's actions. Knowing Geet she might have lied to her just to get her to go away. Maan thanked her from the bottom of his heart for having sent her away from the hell she had been living in. But this did not mean he would just sit there and see his lady love suffer. He was Maan Singh Khurana and as Geet still held Maan's hand on her head he swore something in the depths of his heart.
'Geet, I swear to you that one day you will once again have
your mother by your side. She made you swear not to come looking for her, but
this does not apply to me.'
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In case there are any mistakes, please ignore them. I have tried my best to correct them all before posting but I always miss some out.
comment:
p_commentcount